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Amaretto Gelato

I hope you are all enjoying your summer, even if the weather is temperamental! Today I have a lovely recipe for you on a lovely summer day, or something to enjoy to remind you of the sun even if it isn’t out haha!

I use my vanilla base recipe from an ICES book that I have, for the smoothest vanilla ice-cream, and this recipe was simply one of my experiments, as we tend to have affogato a lot in our house, so this recipe was an extension of this.

Affogato Dessert

A couple of scoops of vanilla ice-cream (homemade or good quality shop bought)

Sprinkle over some crushed amaretti biscuits (crunchy or soft)

Pour over some freshly brewed coffee, or instant if thats all you have

If you’re feeling naughty why not add a splash of your favourite liquor – frangelico, or amaretto would work well.

So this recipe I’m posting today is simply a combination of the liquor and biscuits, that would be lovely served with coffee, as an ice-cream float or simply on its own!

For best results you’ll need an ice cream maker for this, to get a really smooth luxurious ice-cream, but failing this whisk the double cream before combining with the custard – this will ensure the mixture is thicker. Then pour the mixture into a tub, freeze and hand churn by removing the ice-cream at regular intervals and whisking up to remove any ice crystals, continue this until fully frozen – this may result in a less smooth gelato.

Ingredients

300ml Milk

100g Granulated Sugar

3 Egg Yolks

1tsp Vanilla Bean Paste/Extract or 1 Vanilla Pod

Aprox. 284ml Double Cream (I used Elmlea)

100ml Amaretto Liquor, I used Disarrano

A few handfuls of crushed Amaretti biscuits (crunchy)

Method

1. Combine the milk, vanilla and half the sugar in a saucepan and bring to just below boiling point. Remove the pan from the heat, and set aside for about 15 minutes to infuse the vanilla into the milk.

2. In a heatproof bowl, whisk together the egg yolks with the rest of the sugar and beat until thick and pale. It’s best to use an electric whisk for this, but if you don’t have one just use a little elbow grease – think of all the calories you’ll save, ha!

3. Bring the milk back to the boil, then slowly pour the milk into the egg mixture, ensuring to whisk steadily as the milk is added – we don’t want to end up with scrambled eggs.

4. This bowl can either be placed over a bowl of simmering water, or you can return the custard to the saucepan. If you are going to use the second option, ensure the pan is on a heat diffuser and use a thermometer to ensure you do not overheat the custard. Use a wooden spoon, or spatula to continually stir the custard untill it reaches 85 degrees c, or is thicker in consistency. It should coat the back of the spoon, and hold its shape when you run your finger through it.

5. Once cooled, mix in the double cream and liquor.

6. Pour into your ice cream maker, and once thickened, add in your crushed amaretti biscuits. Continue to churn until thick as possible.

7. Pour into a freezable tub, and top with a few more roughly crushed biscuits. Freeze until ready to serve.

This recipe is quite simple, when you follow the steps, what you’ll have at the end of it is an incredibly rich and smooth ice-cream like you’d get in those fancy pots from the supermarket, or at a counter in Italy, but it always tastes better when you make it yourself don’t you think?

Stay tuned for some more lovely recipes! I’m in the Isle of Wight this week, visiting my grandma, but will be back creating and posting recipes next week!